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The Mauryan Empire — GK Questions with Answers

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14 questions
  1. Which is the least important source for Mauryan history?
    1. Coins
    2. Literary works
    3. Inscriptions
    4. Foreign accounts
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Coins

    Mauryan punch-marked coins carry no royal names.

  2. Which statement about Ashoka’s stone pillars is incorrect?
    1. They are highly polished
    2. They formed parts of buildings
    3. Their shafts taper
    4. They are monolithic
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) They formed parts of buildings

    They are free-standing, not architectural members.

  3. Ashoka’s Rock Edict I deals with —
    1. a ban on animal sacrifice and festive gatherings
    2. social welfare measures
    3. gifts to Brahmanas and Shramanas
    4. his visit to Bodh Gaya
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) a ban on animal sacrifice and festive gatherings

    The Bodh Gaya visit is in Rock Edict VIII.

  4. Which Maurya king gave the Nagarjuni hill caves and used the title Devanampiya?
    1. Ashoka
    2. Dasharatha
    3. Bindusara
    4. Brihadratha
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Dasharatha

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  5. Which of these was NOT a Greek king to whom Ashoka sent missions?
    1. Xerxes of Macedonia
    2. Antiochus II Theos of Syria
    3. Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt
    4. Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Xerxes of Macedonia

    Xerxes was a Persian king who ruled two centuries earlier.

  6. Which statement about the Mauryan Mantriparishad is incorrect?
    1. The king chose its members
    2. It had a fixed strength of three councillors and a chief minister
    3. It was consulted especially in emergencies
    4. It may have checked the king
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) It had a fixed strength of three councillors and a chief minister

    Its size was not fixed.

  7. The most important internal trade route of the Mauryan period ran —
    1. from Taxila in the north-west to Pataliputra
    2. from Shravasti to Pratishthana
    3. along the western coast
    4. along the eastern coast
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) from Taxila in the north-west to Pataliputra

    The Uttarapatha.

  8. About the guilds of ancient India, which is/are correct? 1. Each guild had to register with the central government and the king ran them 2. Guilds fixed wages, work rules, standards and prices 3. Guilds judged their own members (IAS 2006)
    1. 1 and 2
    2. 3 only
    3. 2 and 3
    4. All three
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) 2 and 3

    Guilds were largely self-governing.

  9. The Allahabad pillar inscription is associated with — (IAS 2006)
    1. Mahapadma Nanda
    2. Chandragupta Maurya
    3. Ashoka
    4. Samudragupta
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Samudragupta

    Harishena’s Prayag Prashasti of Samudragupta is engraved on Ashoka’s pillar.

  10. Assertion (A): Ashoka’s edicts put social harmony above religious devotion. Reason (R): Rather than any one faith, he preached fairness and equity. (IAS 1998)
    1. Both true, R explains A
    2. Both true, R does not explain A
    3. A true, R false
    4. A false, R true
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Both true, R explains A

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  1. The most important feature of Mauryan administration was —
    1. a council of ministers
    2. a vast bureaucracy
    3. a network of spies
    4. wide powers of provincial governors
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) a vast bureaucracy

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  2. Which of these did Megasthenes report about Mauryan society? 1. Polygamy 2. Women as palace guards 3. Theft was rare 4. No slavery
    1. 1, 2 and 3
    2. 1, 2 and 4
    3. 2, 3 and 4
    4. All four
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) All four

    All four appear in his account — even though "no slavery" is contradicted by Indian sources.

  3. Which statements are correct? 1. The last Maurya, Brihadratha, was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga 2. The last Shunga, Devabhuti, was killed by his minister Vasudeva Kanva 3. The last Kanva ruler was removed by the Andhras
    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. 3 only
    4. All three
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) All three

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  4. How many elephants did Megasthenes say Chandragupta’s army had?
    1. 900
    2. 9,000
    3. 30,000
    4. 6,00,000
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) 9,000

    30,000 was the cavalry and 6,00,000 the infantry.

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